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Monday, April 06, 2015

Nirvana on the N24

The writer of the following account originally submitted it for publication on the Astral Perceptions Universal site...but I felt it should be presented here as well. Your comments are appreciated:

Dear Lon, let me start by saying how much I enjoy your Phantoms and Monsters blog and Astral Perceptions Universal website. My experience doesn't involve any UFO's or cryptids, just an intensely personal experience that changed my life.

The year was 1983 or 1984. I was in my early twenty's and was working for a brokerage firm (Shearson/American Express) in downtown Manhattan. The situation was this. I was at the end of an arduous work week. The computers at our office had been crashing all week which would instantly send us back to the 1930's as we had to take all stock orders by hand and transmit them to the exchange floor. Much stress and mayhem involved. It was finally Friday after 6:30 and we got to go home. I had a two hour commute before me by subway, bus and then a two mile walk to get to my house. I didn't relish thinking about it. I was dog tired and it was drizzling.

After a long subway ride from the World Trade Center to Queens I got on the eastbound N24 bus which would take me into Nassau County. It was late and there were few passengers. I sat alone in the back of the bus reading Cry The Beloved Country by Alan Paton. I remember it was a book my mother had recommended to me and since her taste in reading material had always been superior to mine I had gladly taken it up.

The experience began as the bus was turning onto Jamaica Ave. I had just read the last few pages of the book and it had affected me deeply. It's funny, I don't remember any of the specifics of the story. What I do remember are the feelings of sorrow, hope and compassion that welled up in me as I finished. I also remember lifting my head to look out the rain wet window and felt myself connect with the world in a profound way. I know it sounds trite and cliched to say everything became ONE, but that is exactly what happened. All the feelings I was harboring from the book seemed to meld inside me and then in an instant expand, connecting me with the the bus, the road, the lamppost, I could even feel the rain as it fell out of the sky. I looked out the back window and felt myself part of the buildings and I imagined that if I wanted to I could just let myself go and meld with it all. This state brought on a deep feeling of peace and wonder. And yet the oddest part of this was the realization that it was not unique to my experience. I had been here before. My first thoughts upon entering this state had been "I'm back". I knew on an intrinsic level that I had been in this state before although I had no conscience memory of it ever having happened. It was like a blindfold being taken from your eyes and seeing the dawn for the first time. And then it faded. I slowly came back into myself. I was feeling deeply, soulfully quite and I had tears in my eyes.

I've thought often of this experience and it's one of the reasons I've started shamanic journeying. Because of it I have no doubt there is an existence/perception/knowledge that lies outside everyday life. I know that to seek to understand this thing is an important part of why I am here, and I never forget that the gateway to this state for me was hope, sorrow and compassion.

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